Umbria · Terni
Allerona
A stone borgo between the Paglia valley and the Valdichiana, an Orvieto outpost whose Monaldeschi castle fell to Charles V.
By Peter Benei
Written about. No. 74.
The letter
Allerona got its letter. One town at a time, free. The photo, the food, the festa.
Visiting
- Best time
- Apr–Oct
- By car
- 1 h 21 min from Perugia
- By train
- Station in the comune
- Population
- 1,687
- J10°
- F13°
- M14°
- A17°
- M22°
- J28°
- J32°
- A31°
- S25°
- O20°
- N15°
- D11°
- Best
- Hot or crowded
- Quiet
- Mostly closed
Daytime air temperature, averages for 2020–2024. Weather data by Open-Meteo.com.
Why come
Allerona sits on a ridge between the Paglia valley and the Valdichiana, fifty kilometers southwest of Perugia and twenty north of Orvieto. The site was a Roman waystation called vicus Lerona, crossed by the Via Cassia and the Via Traiana Nova between Rome and Chiusi. Paved sections and two milestones still surface in the surrounding fields.
The medieval castle, built in 1275 by the Monaldeschi and Filippeschi families as Orvieto's northern bulwark, was destroyed at the end of the fifteenth century and rebuilt afterward. In 1595 the community freed itself from Orvieto and the Monaldeschi rule and wrote its own statutes. The centro storico keeps its original urban fabric: stone houses without plaster, two surviving gates called Porta del Sole and Porta della Luna, and a small grid of lanes that has not changed shape in five hundred years.
How to get there
From Rome Fiumicino (FCO), about 1 h 56 min by car.
Bologna (BLQ) is about 2 h 53 min away.
By car from the center of Perugia 1 h 21 min or Siena 1 h 40 min.
There is a railway station in the comune, so you can arrive without a car.
Coming by train into Perugia? Allerona is about 1 h 17 min away by road.
Every town within reach of Rome Fiumicino airport.
First time driving in Italy? Read our complete manual.
What to see
Chiesa di Santa Maria Assunta
Twelfth-century Romanesque church on the central square, renovated in neo-Gothic style 1892-1897 with terracotta pulpit and Viligiardi fresco cycle.
Chiesa di San Michele Arcangelo
Twelfth-century church, the second pole of the medieval religious layout alongside Santa Maria Assunta.
Borgo medievale
Unplastered stone houses, two surviving gates Porta del Sole and Porta della Luna, fragments of the 1275 Monaldeschi walls.
Chiesa della Madonna dell'Acqua
Small octagonal rural church from the early 1700s, built beside a spring once held to be miraculous.
Sito archeologico di Sant'Ansano
Remains of two stone and brick funerary monuments from the second century AD, on the line of the old Roman road.
Living here
Could you live here?
Allerona is at the end of the road.
- A village of 1,687. The nearest town of 5,000 people, Orvieto, is 28 min away: past our 15-minute rule, which makes this the end of the road.
- Viterbo, a city of 66,393, is 1 h 13 min by car. Further than our 30 to 60 minutes, a long way for the hospital visit or the monthly shopping.
- A station of its own. Trains are the overlooked way to get around Italy: no parking, straight into the center.
The rules come from our series Where to Move in Italy, written from the places we have lived: Part 1, The End of the Road · Part 2, The Small Town · Part 3, The City · Part 4, The Postcard · Part 5, The Other Half. The towns we would pick are in Part 6, The Best Towns.
- Population 1,687, down 6.4% since 2015
- Nearest city Viterbo, 1 h 13 min drive
- Train station in the comune
- Nearest national health service hospital Acquapendente, 9 km as the crow flies · how healthcare works in Italy
- Homes in the center: €600 to €900 per m² to buy, €3.00 to €4.70 per m² a month to rent
All the numbers Common questions, designations, lists and sources.
More about living here
- Commuter belt
- Pharmacy: none mapped
- High school within a 30-minute drive
- Full fibre reaches 98% of homes
- Primary school in the comune
- Earthquake zone 3, low hazard
- Perugia airport (PEG), 1 h 31 min drive, the nearest with scheduled flights
- Regional capital Perugia, 1 h 21 min drive
If you are moving here
Who lives here
7% of residents are foreign citizens, most often from Romania, North Macedonia and Ukraine, against 9% across Italy. 11 of them come from English-speaking countries or western and northern Europe, mostly the United States. There are 262 people over 65 for every 100 children under 15, against 216 across Italy. 32% of homes have no resident, holiday homes and empty ones counted together, against 27% across Italy. Terni province ranks 48th of 107 in Il Sole 24 Ore's quality of life ranking for 2025.
Health and schools
The nearest emergency room is in Acquapendente, 9 km as the crow flies. The nearest major one is in Perugia, 50 km away. The nearest IB school is Viterbo International School, 45 km as the crow flies.
Information, not medical advice. Confirm with a professional.
Taxes
A home that is not your main one pays 0.96% a year in property tax, charged on the cadastral value rather than the price. A main home pays none unless it is in a luxury category. The town adds 0.8% to your income tax. 7% pensioner tax: this town is not in a qualifying area.
Information, not tax advice. Confirm with a professional.
What it costs
The average household in Umbria spends about €2,310 a month, €550 of it on food, against about €2,170 across Italy. A family of three pays about €677 a year for water, on the Umbria average. In Terni, the provincial capital, in September 2026, an espresso cost €1.22, a meal in a pizzeria €12.97 and a man's haircut €22.65.
Climate and risk
It is in climate zone E, on a scale from A, the warmest, to F, the coldest, and heating may run from October 15 to April 15, up to 14 hours a day, unless the mayor changes it. Under 1% of residents live in a zone the national maps rate high for floods. 6% live in a zone rated high or very high for landslides.
These shares cover the whole comune, not any one street. Check an address on IdroGEO.
Moving from abroad? Which visa you need. Sources: ISTAT, the Ministry of Health, ISPRA, the Finance Ministry, the Ministry of Enterprise, Poste Italiane, the comuni, the IB, International Schools Database, Il Sole 24 Ore, Cittadinanzattiva.
Known for
MONALDESCHI CASTLE
Built 1275 as Orvieto's bulwark toward Chiusi, destroyed by Charles V at the end of the fifteenth century.
VIA CASSIA
Two Roman milestones and paved sections of the Cassia and Traiana Nova survive in the commune's fields.
BORGO INTATTO
Stone houses without plaster, two medieval gates, an urban grid that has held its shape since 1275.
PECORINO TOSCANO
The commune lies inside the Pecorino Toscano DOP production zone.
Common questions
- What is Allerona known for?
- Allerona is a stone borgo at 472 meters between the Paglia valley and the Valdichiana, an Orvieto outpost whose Monaldeschi castle fell to Charles V.
- Where is Allerona?
- Allerona is a comune in the province of Terni, in Umbria.
- What is the nearest airport to Allerona?
- The nearest airport with scheduled flights is Perugia (PEG), about 1 h 31 min by car.
- Can you get to Allerona without a car?
- Yes. There is a railway station in the comune, so you can arrive by train.
- How long is the drive from Perugia to Allerona?
- About 1 h 21 min by car.
- When is the best time to visit Allerona?
- Best in Apr–Oct. July is the warmest month, averaging 32 degrees, and December the wettest, with about 11 rain days.
- Which other towns are like Allerona?
- Campello sul Clitunno, Serra San Quirico and Vogogna.
- How many people live in Allerona?
- 1,687 residents, by ISTAT's count on 1 January 2025.
- Is Allerona a good place to live?
- By the rules in our Where to Move in Italy series, Allerona is at the end of the road: the nearest town of 5,000 people, Orvieto, is 28 min away. The nearest city, Viterbo, is 1 h 13 min away by car. The nearest national health service hospital is in Acquapendente, 9 km as the crow flies. Full fibre reaches 98% of homes.
Tags & data designations · numbers · sources
Recognized as
Landscape
The numbers
- Elevation: 472 m
- Population: 1,687
- Surface area: 82.61 km²
These figures were compiled from public directories: ISTAT, OpenStreetMap and Wikidata, and from the official listings of the guides named on this page. Town details change; verify with official sources before you travel.
Near here, with a letter
- Written about. No. 83.
Orvieto
Province: Terni
Etruscan Velzna on a 325-meter tufa butte, later a medieval refuge of popes.
28 min by car
- Written about. No. 45.
Radicofani
Province: Siena
The Val d'Orcia's basalt watchtower: a 1,044-resident UNESCO-inscribed borgo at 814m on a volcanic outcrop visible across half of southern Tuscany, crowned by an outlaw's fortress that Dante and Boccaccio both wrote into their pages.
19 km away
- Written about. No. 84.
Paciano
Province: Perugia
Walled hill town of 937 people at 391 meters above the lake, three parallel streets, eight towers and three medieval gates intact.
25 km away
The letter
Allerona got its letter. One town at a time, free. The photo, the food, the festa.
Paid plans, the moving year and the books are on the membership page.